The invention relates to polymerizable resin compounds for manufacture of molded parts of acrylic resin containing large quantities of filler and to the articles that can be made therefrom. The resin compounds have low viscosity as well as little tendency to intrinsic viscosity.
By means of the inventive composition, filled acrylic sheets and plates with high flame retardancy, low smoke development and great ease of handling can be manufactured.
The manufacture of plastic articles and molded parts from casting resin is already known. If the casting resins contain high filler contents of, for example, Al(OH)3 ( greater than 60 wt %), compared with the polymer matrix of acrylic and/or methacrylic acid esters, the articles manufactured therefrom have high flame resistance. Good mechanical and thermal properties, and especially good forming and thermal shock behavior, can be achieved only by sufficient bonding between polymer matrix and filler. How such binding is achieved also belongs to the prior art.
For filler contents of  less than 60 wt %, the mechanical and thermal properties of the articles already become better because of the lower solids content. The mechanical and thermal properties of the molded plastic parts must be chosen and matched to one another in such a way that the part can be both easily formed and also readily machined by cutting techniques.
On the other hand, the flame resistance becomes poorer at filler contents of  less than 60 wt %, and so appropriate flame retardants would have to be used in order, for example, to pass the B1 test. Unfortunately such additives act as plasticizers, which in turn adversely influences the mechanical and thermal properties.
German Patent 2818954 (Rohm and Haas) describes a polymerizable resin mass comprising a solution of a polymer in a monomer, the polymer being composed of at least 50 wt % of C1 to C8 alkyl methacrylate and 0.01 to 8 wt % of ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid units, and the monomer comprising at least 50 wt % of C1 to C8 alkyl methacrylate, a polymerization initiator and, relative to the total weight of the compound, 40 to 80 wt % of inert particulate filler, such as hydrated aluminum oxide, calcium carbonate, clays, silicon dioxide, silicates, metal oxides and Mg(OH)2 and MgO. There can also be added fibrous reinforcing substances. The flame retardancy is achieved by high filler concentrations.
European Patent 253211 (Dynamit Nobel AG) describes casting resins of methacrylic acid esters with a high proportion of aluminum hydroxide or aluminum oxide hydrate as filler. The casting resins each contain a mixture of at least one organosilicon compound with a functional group, one silicic acid ester and one organic metal acid compound of metals of Subgroups IV and/or V of the Periodic Table. The functional group of the organosilicon compound is ethylenically unsaturated and is bonded either directly or via alkylene groups to the silicon atom. The addition of this mixture to the casting resins known in themselves brings about a desirable improvement of the processing properties of the resins by lowering the viscosity. Plastic articles and molded parts manufactured from these resins are characterized by greatly improved use properties.
European Patent 729979 (du Pont) describes casting resins based on curable acrylic and/or methacrylic acid esters and finely divided inorganic fillers, which resins contain as adhesion promoters organosilicon compounds and metal esters, the casting resin composition containing zirconium acetylacetonate and water.
International Patent WO 95/9207 (LVMH Recherche) describes the use of a mixture of block copolymers of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid and C1 to C10 alkyl acrylates or C1 to C10 alkyl methacrylates, which mixture contains inorganic fillers and an organic solvent, in which the acrylic acid or methacrylic acid and C1 to C10 alkyl acrylates or C1 to C10 alkyl methacrylates are soluble. These block copolymers are used as wefting and moisturizing agents for inorganic particles. There are also described compositions and cosmetic preparations.
International Patent WO 96/26977 (du Pont) describes a method for achieving good binding between the filler and the plastic. Phosphoric acid esters of esters of acrylic or methacrylic acid with polyhydric alcohols are proposed as binders. Mechanical properties of the molded parts obtained from the mixtures are not described.
European Patent 233199 (Farge) describes polymerizable compositions of methacrylic acid esters and methacrylic acid. The focus of this invention lies in the good intimate binding of fillers such as SiO2 or aluminum powder.
Articles of casting resins based on PMMA with filler contents of less than 60 wt % exhibit improved mechanical properties. The impact strength of a material filled with 60 wt % of Al(OH)3 was 2.8 kJ/m2, measured by the Charpy method (DIN 54453, ISO 179). At 55 wt % of Al(OH)3, the Charpy impact strength was 4.5 kJ/m2.
This increase of impact strength reduces the risk of fracture of plates manufactured according to the invention during processing and assembly. Even when the edge of a 9-mm-thick plate made of the inventive material (55 wt % of Al(OH)3) was bent over (temperature: 150xc2x0 C., duration: 3 minutes, bend radius: 50 mm), only slight, acceptable white discoloration of the material occurred, whereas material containing 60 wt % of Al(OH)3 exhibited pronounced and extremely troublesome white discoloration under otherwise identical forming conditions.
During processing by cutting techniques, the plate made of inventive material had a much smaller dust-generation tendency and formed much neater chips during sawing than was the case for comparable plates manufactured according to the prior art instructions.
In order to pass the officially required fire test, for example the B1 test according to DIN 4102, flame retardants must be added. Flame retardants act as plasticizers, and thereby the thermal and mechanical properties become poorer.
The object was therefore to manufacture plastic articles containing fillers of particulate, inorganic fillers such as Al(OH)3, which articles require little or no flame retardant, so that the mechanical and thermal properties are not impaired and nevertheless the B1 test according to DIN 4102 is passed.
It was found that, with the use of an unsaturated acid compound, the mechanical and thermal properties become better both at high and also at low filler contents by using an unsaturated compound containing hydroxy functions and/or by using an unsaturated compound containing epoxy functions. Furthermore, an increase in flame resistance can be observed at filler contents of less than 60 wt %.
The increase of flame resistance at filler contents of xe2x89xa660 wt % was not to be expected.
At higher filler contents of more than 60 wt % of Al(OH)3, B1 according to DIN 4102 is satisfied because of the high solids content, while above and beyond this the mechanical properties are improved by the addition of the unsaturated compounds described hereinabove.
At filler contents of  less than 60 wt %, B1 according to DIN 4102 is satisfied and the mechanical properties are improved by the addition of the unsaturated compounds described hereinabove.
This synergistic effect is presumably based on the one hand on improved binding between polymer matrix and filler and on the other hand on a swelling effect of the functional compound.
Among the unsaturated acid compounds there are included:
vinyl-group-containing polymerizable acids, such as methacrylic acid, acrylic acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid or itaconic acid,
sulfonic acids, such as styrenesulfonic acid,
acid phosphorus compounds (except for phosphoric acid itself, such as 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphate
aromatic monocarboxylic or dicarboxylic acids substituted by one or more vinyl groups, such as styrenecarboxylic acid.
There can also be used the imides, amides, anhydrides and esters of the carboxylic acids listed in the foregoing, examples being methacrylamide or maleic anhydride.
Among the hydroxylated compounds there are included hydroxylated esters of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid, such as hydroxypropyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate.
Among the epoxy-group-containing compounds there are included, for example, glycidyl methacrylate.
As fillers there are used various types of inorganic particles, such as aluminum oxide/oxide hydrate and magnesium hydroxide.
Especially preferably there are used aluminum hydroxide and aluminum oxide hydrate.
As regards the inorganic fillers, it is advisable that the mean particle size of the filler particles does not exceed 100 xcexcm (diameter), preferably 75 xcexc. Besides fillers with monodisperse size distribution, there can also mixtures of at least 2 components, the mean average particle sizes of which are chosen such that a size ratio between the mean average particle sizes of the large filler particles and those of the small filler particles ranges between 10:1 and 2:1, preferably between 6:1 and 4:1. In this connection, filler particles with a particle size of  less than 0.1 xcexcm must not amount to more than 10% of the volume of all filler particles.
The particle size is determined by the standard methods, the respective largest dimensions of the particles being used as basis for particle-size determination (for example, see B. Scarleft, Filtration and Separation, page 215, 1965). The ratio between the quantities of large and small filler particles generally ranges between 4:1 and 1:4, preferably 2:1 and 1:2, and especially preferably is 1:1.
The proportion of filler in the casting resins of the present invention is at least 30 wt %. An improvement of the mechanical properties is already achieved at low contents of the inventive compounds. In general, a proportion of 80 wt % is not exceeded, although a filler content of 50 to 80 wt % in the casting resins would be a guide value. For improvement of the thermal properties (fire behavior), a filler content of at least 50 wt % in association with use of the inventive compound is necessary. Production of the fillers in the advised particle sizes can be achieved by known methods, such as crushing and grinding.